Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

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Thinking of this, he no longer felt sorry for Gojo Satoru; he could only say that his current predicament was entirely his own fault.

From a colleague's perspective, he was deeply grateful to Gojo Satoru for eliminating the biggest threat, but in terms of personal character, he simply couldn't respect him.

As for the novice sorcerers who had been completely bewildered from beginning to end, he waved his hand to signal them to continue resting, while he went to check on them.

That group was for the "core" members, and the younger ones didn't know what was happening there. He didn't plan to tell them either, since he still needed to help maintain the image of the strongest member and couldn't let everyone know.

Gojo Satoru usually makes a big fuss, so it didn't take him long to find the other party again.

"Mr. Gojo."

"Um."

"Do you need my help..."

Before Nanami could finish speaking, Gojo Satoru simply raised his right hand, put his index and middle fingers together, and casually pointed forward.

A thin, almost invisible, pale blue ray of light shot from her fingertip, piercing through the street from one end to the other. The newly emerged cursed spirit was gone; it was dissipated before even emitting black smoke.

Nanami, who noticed the change from afar, twitched at the corner of her mouth. This kind of scene always evoked a sense of awe, no matter how many times it happened.

It seems my worries were unnecessary. Although things have changed, our combat strength hasn't weakened. Was it Yue Ren-kun who helped? Have these two formed some kind of complementary relationship...?

Nanami felt a slight sense of relief. For a sorcerer, companions are their best support. Gojo Satoru and other sorcerers had left him feeling lonely in some ways, but things seemed different now. Powerful new stars were emerging one after another, giving this only pillar of support a chance to catch his breath.

During this meeting, he could sense that the person in front of him was more relaxed than before. That was good. He knew his own strength and limitations and knew that he couldn't be the one to solve this person's problems, but it was enough that someone else could.

Gojo Satoru also needs rest and care, regardless of her status as the strongest person, but rather because of her identity as a person with emotions.

"Nanami."

"Um."

"Have the members behind clear out the remaining debris, making sure not a single cursed spirit is left behind."

"Understood! Then please be careful as well."

"Oh, that's rare, but I've received your wish, it will come true."

Sendai——

This epic 2v2 battle has come to an end.

Stone Dragon was ultimately defeated by Bone, which was not surprising at all. After all, compared with Bone, who was skilled in using "Reversal Spells" and had his own exclusive weapon, Stone Dragon was still a bit inferior.

Although Shiliuryuu could also use the strongest "Domain Deployment", Yigu's domain was clearly more proficient than his. With the help of "Dojigiri Angang" and "Domain", he easily defeated Shiliuryuu, whose strengths and weaknesses were very obvious. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that his opponent knew the domain, he would have needed to use Domain Neutralization and Guaranteed Hit, and he wouldn't even have needed to activate the domain.

"Dōjigiri Angan" is a weapon specially made by the Yue people for Eto. Its greatest characteristics are sharpness and hardness. It can withstand Eto's flood of curse power and can easily break through the Stone Flow Dragon's proud defense when it is covered with curse power.

With this weapon, even in his normal state, his output efficiency is undoubtedly comparable to that of the Stone Flow Dragon.

What follows is simple: just find an opening to get close and deliver a fatal blow—there's nothing more to say.

Meanwhile, our Miss Uruhiko suffered greatly at the hands of Fushiguro Megumi's "rogue" shikigami.

The battle was dragged into a standard war of attrition. The spells were analyzed and adapted to, and the player watched helplessly as their damage decreased. The enemy's shikigami clung to them like a dog, and in the end, the player had no choice but to activate their domain and imprison "Demon Void Luo" inside.

But it was no use. The spell had already been adapted to, and even being confined to the domain only increased the spell's strength and "guaranteed hit" effect, which was of no use whatsoever.

Ultimately, in a fit of powerless despair and amidst his roars at Fushiguro Megumi, he was brutally punished by the iron ball-sized fist.

After a thrilling battle, Yigu helped Shiliuryuu and Wulu Hengzi recover from their injuries and, as the victor, captured them, offering them leniency in exchange for their help in rescuing others.

Whether by choice or by coercion, the two agreed, and Sendai, one of the main areas of Tokyo, gradually returned to peace.

The same scene unfolding in different regions was witnessed by Lu Su, who was keeping a close eye on the situation. As she watched the cursed spirits and sorcerers being gradually eliminated, she smiled.

It'll be almost done, let's get started!

On the other hand, Yue Ren arrived at the High School, or more specifically, the "Tengen-sama's" Death Star Palace.

Without any hindrance, he soon met "Lord Tengen".

"This ritual called 'Return of Death' is based on your barrier, isn't it?"

Without any pretense of politeness, Yue Ren went straight to the point, asking the question directly. After all, the other party was a smart person, and she knew the current situation better than Yue Ren. Refusing her inquiry would not be a wise choice.

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Tianyuan spoke.

"......Yes."

"So you're the manager now, you should be able to control it and turn it off, right?"

Tianyuan fell silent once again, because the information Yue Ren had given her was crucial. If other sorcerers heard it, it might shake her position in their hearts.

A barrier that has plunged the nation into war is managed by the very god it serves, and the current situation is that this god refuses to shut it down.

Any sorcerer would be shaken upon hearing this information.

However, Tianyuan did not completely betray the human camp; there were reasons for doing so.

"...Indeed, that's possible, but that also means..."

"That means the integrity of the barrier covering Japan will be destroyed, and the Japanese barrier techniques based on the great barrier will decline for hundreds, even thousands of years. And it's not just the technology that will decline; the destruction of the great barrier means a loss of function. The power originally used to suppress cursed spirits over a large area will completely disappear, and even more people will die then, right?"

The barrier of Tianyuan is like a unique and precious artifact to Japan in this world. As long as it exists and can function properly, the cursed spirits born in Japan will be suppressed to a certain extent, in terms of quantity, level, frequency, and all aspects.

The protective barrier techniques used by the supervisors also rely on this unique item for enhancement, in order to maintain normal cover-up and cleanup procedures.

If Tianyuan's barrier malfunctions and loses its effectiveness, the number and power of the cursed spirits will increase first, and secondly, the lower-level personnel here, namely the assistant supervisors, will be unable to use barrier magic. This shift in power will result in a serious disruption to the existing order and rules.

Although the current situation is not much different from peace, at least these people at the bottom can still share some of the pressure on the sorcerers and help evacuate ordinary people.

There are not many sorcerers to begin with, and they have always been scarce compared to the disasters that occur every day. In the relatively peaceful period before, Gojo Satoru worked around the clock. Now, if the barrier is destroyed, the trend that has just started to improve may become worse.

A single "Death Return" only covers the entire Tokyo area. If the barrier is destroyed, it will affect the entire country of Japan, and the sorcerer system will collapse directly.

"That's right!"

Tengen unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. So the other party knew... Looking at the boy, he was stunned for a moment, but then he understood. After all, the boy had acquired knowledge of his barrier techniques, so it was normal for him to know this much.

He also confirmed that Yue Ren hadn't come to ask her to shut down the barrier, which calmed her down a bit. It seemed that letting him in was the right gamble, and now both sides should be on the same page.

As she was pondering, Yue Ren's question arose again.

"So, is it possible to find his or that cursed spirit's location now?"

Tianyuan shook his head.

"No, the barrier technique can't detect it. The opponent's barrier technique skills are not much worse than mine. Moreover, the main function of the large barrier is 'concealment' rather than exploration. There are many corresponding countermeasures. Furthermore, although the opponent is the initiator of the Death Return, as you said, the real manager is me. He has no direct connection with the barrier, so we can't track him using this approach."

Unbeknownst to him, Tianyuan's desire to communicate had increased considerably.

"I see... So, do you know what his ultimate goal is?"

"...He's probably manipulating me. As long as he controls me, he can control the 'achievements' gained through the Death and Annihilation Return."

This is why she let this boy, whom she considered very "dangerous," in, because she herself seemed to be in a precarious situation.

As someone who is essentially omniscient in this region of Japan, although Lu Suo's actions may seem deceptive to ordinary sorcerers, they are still very clear to her. She activates "Death Return," causing the people and cursed spirits within to fight each other, accumulating a massive amount of cursed power, and then controls herself to assimilate with all of Japan's humans. In the worst-case scenario, she might create an ultimate cursed monster fused from the sacrifices of all of Japan's humans.

By then, both we and Japan will be finished.

"But how does he intend to control you?"

"...In my current state, I am actually closer to a cursed spirit than a human. The ability to control cursed spirits can work on me."

The Yue people know this, but the problem is that the current Lu Suo shouldn't have Xia Youjie's "Spirit Manipulation Technique," so how can he control Tianyuan... Could it be...?

Seeing Yue Ren's pupils gradually dilate, Tian Yuan sighed and continued to explain, which confirmed Yue Ren's guess.

"It's that cursed spirit, the cursed spirit of the gun—Impeachment. Its special bullets can bring the cursed spirits it hits under its command, and even back them up as 'ammunition,' just like when 'Return to Annihilation' is activated. Use its power, use me!"

"I see!"

Yue Ren understood that this cursed spirit named Impeachment had completed the 'success conditions' that Yue Ren had been gradually removing from Lu Suo, which was why Lu Suo continued its plan even under such unfavorable circumstances.

Otherwise, given that the prerequisites for the plan have been ruined by the Yue people, he should logically continue to act like a coward and wait for another opportunity, given his cautious nature.

This shows how powerful fate can be; the dynamic balance of this world is truly remarkable.

Yue Ren couldn't help but feel secretly annoyed; this feeling of being targeted was extremely unpleasant.

Gojo Satoru is so strong that he revived Sukuna, and because he's special, he also awakened a special super cursed spirit. They really think highly of him.

But it's alright, the current situation isn't too bad. Even the world's rules and conventions aren't entirely inviolable.

The sudden emergence of so many cursed spirits may be considered a disaster, but in a way, it has also forced out a large number of hidden dangers deep in the earth. If these curses can be eliminated, then after this war ends, the momentum of the cursed spirits will inevitably weaken, and the sorcerers should be able to take a "long vacation".

But if we implement our plan then...

The idea is beautiful, but we need to take it seriously before we can do it, even though Sukuna is already...